3

So all the suffering I'd endured was just part of some twisted test.

Lucian hadn't been blind to my pain. He just couldn't break character, so he'd funneled every bit of compensation to another woman instead.

Then what were my ten years worth?

At some point, a downpour had started outside.

I didn't have an umbrella. I called Lucian dozens of times, but every call was busy.

I stumbled home in a daze and pounded on the door. The person who answered wasn't Lucian.

It was the girl from the videos: Vivian Reed.

Before I could even demand to know what she was doing there, Lucian's accusation hit me first.

"Audrey, didn't I tell you to walk Milo yourself? How could you hand him off to a stranger?

"If Vivian hadn't run into him on the street and brought him back, who knows what could have happened!"

Every word out of his mouth was about Milo. Not a single glance at me standing there soaked to the bone.

I couldn't hold it in anymore. My voice came out raw and ragged.

"Lucian, does everyone in this world matter more to you than I do?

"If that's the case, then I don't see the point in us going on!"

A flash of lightning lit Lucian's stunned face.

His lips trembled. He reached for my hand on instinct, but Vivian stepped in front of him first.

"Audrey's obviously just throwing a little tantrum because she saw me here. She'd never actually leave you, Lucian.

"Audrey, Lucian was just thanking me for bringing Milo back. There's nothing going on between us. Right, Lucian?"

Lucian's expression had already gone cold again.

He ignored Vivian's question and fixed me with an unreadable look.

"Audrey, I don't want to hear you say that again."

I pushed past both of them and squeezed through the door. All I wanted was to grab my things and leave.

But Lucian caught me. He snatched up a towel and roughly rubbed my hair dry.

"You'll catch a cold.

"Even if you're rushing off to work, take care of yourself first."

He handed me a bowl of steaming bacon and tomato soup.

"Drink up. It'll warm you."

I couldn't refuse him. The first sip warmed something deep inside me.

Bacon and cheese were luxuries we almost never had.

Even on my own birthday, I never got so much as a taste. So why was he being so generous today?

Just as the thought crossed my mind, Lucian ladled a heaping bowl for Vivian.

"Didn't you say you were craving this? Have as much as you want. I spent over two hours following the recipe, so don't let it go to waste."

Once, when I had a 102-degree fever and asked for a bowl of hot noodles, Lucian said he couldn't cook and told me to tough it out.

Turned out it wasn't that he never set foot in the kitchen. The person worth the effort just wasn't me.

Maybe the look I was giving Vivian had turned too hostile, because Lucian shot me a glare.

"Audrey, don't look at her like that.

"Vivian is my... colleague. She even brought shrimp today as a gift. Normally, you wouldn't be eating anything this nice."

Milo caught the scent of shrimp and was already wagging his tail in excitement.

Lucian patted his fluffy head and crouched down to peel the shrimp.

One plate for Milo. One plate for Vivian.

When he noticed I hadn't moved, Lucian frowned.

"You're not going to peel your own? You want me to do it for you? Vivian has a manicure, so it's hard for her. Audrey, since when are you this petty?"

When disappointment runs deep enough, it actually makes you laugh. And I laughed.

I held out my hands, showing him ten fingers tipped with crystal-studded nails.

Lucian nearly dropped his bowl.

"Audrey! Where did you get the money for that?

"You dipped into our joint account?! That's our house fund!"

So he knew perfectly well what that money was for.

I scoffed. "You're the one who drained it first to buy the dog a new outfit."

"And that's your excuse to get back at me? It was Milo's birthday! You couldn't chip in?

"Audrey, when did you get so petty? So materialistic?!"

The disappointment in Lucian's eyes cut deep.

When Vivian got a manicure, that was perfectly natural, and she deserved to be waited on.

When I did the same thing, I was shallow and money-hungry.

How was that fair? Just because I loved him, he thought he could treat me like this?!

Sensing that things were about to blow up, Vivian seized me and half-pulled, half-dragged me into the bathroom.

"Audrey obviously has some kind of misunderstanding. Lucian, don't get worked up. Let me talk to her."

The second the bathroom door closed, every trace of her sweet act vanished.

"So. You know everything now, don't you?"